Supporting anti-racism activists, DACA and TPS

My Fellow Resisters,

Here are new updates and recommended actions from PAGE (Progressive Action Global Exchange) followed by inspiring reading/watching/listening suggestions from our own Kathy Sherretts (STOP, LOOK, LISTEN) 

In solidarity,
Sage


PAGE Update

This weekend, white supremacists, Nazis and fascists marched and waged terror in Charlottesville, VA, showing the world just how active white nationalist and racist movements are in the US (see a “Hate Map” from the SPLC for more info). If you’ve living outside the US, today you may be feeling all kinds of complicated emotions about watching these events unfold from afar. Please know that wherever you are in the world, there is much you can do to support Charlottesville, and fight against racism, white supremacy and hate.

This week, we’re supporting anti-racism activists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville. We’re also joining United We Dream's campaign to protect DACA (the “Dream” act) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and showing up for immigrants threatened by the Trump administration’s embrace of white nationalism.


Priority Actions

Support Anti-Racism Activists in Charlottesville, VA.

• What happened in Charlottesville? On Friday and Saturday, thousands of white nationalists held “Unite the Right” demonstrations in Charlottesville to protest the city’s plan to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee. They chanted “you will not replace us,” “blood and soil,” and other slogans against people of color, religious minorities, and LGBTQ+ folks. On both days they were met by counter-protesters - Black Lives Matter, religious leaders, antifascist groups, and other anti-racism activists.   On Saturday, a driver rammed a car into a crowd of counter-protesters, murdering a woman and injuring at least 19 others.
• Support & Fund Anti-Racism Work in Charlottesville: We may not be able to protest in person, but we can show that there is support from around the world for those most targeted by white supremacist violence. Donate to these groups - even a little bit helps!
  • Charlottesville Chapter of the NAACP has been focusing on the rights and needs of Black people for decades.
  • Charlottesville Pride serves Cville’s LGBTQ community through outreach, events, and advocacy.
  • The Charlottesville Solidarity Legal Fund is an independent community resource that is available to all anti-racist activists in the ongoing struggle to confront and end white supremacy in Charlottesville.
  • (And more here!)
• Think about your own role in holding up or supporting white supremacy and other unfair power structures. How can you speak up and take other actions in your own life to make sure that equality is a reality - even if it is challenging and uncomfortable?
  • Use our Anti-Oppression guide to have a conversation about white supremacy and other systems of oppression.
  • White folks can also join Safety Pin Box, a subscription service which teaches white folks how to be allies in the movement for Black Liberation.
• Hold a vigil or counter-protest in your country of residence. Folks across the U.S.A. and around the world are coming together to show support for Charlottesville. You might be able to collaborate with local activists working against fascism and racism and in the country where you live. If you organize to hold an event, register your event here so others can find it.  

Protect DACA and TPS!
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• Background Info - Why is DACA under threat? Five years ago, 800,000 immigrant children were granted legal protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program. In addition, over 300,000 immigrants, mostly from El Salvador, Honduras, and Haiti, are protected under Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Far right Republicans, led by ten states (TX, AL, AR, ID, KS, LA, NE, SC, TN, WV) are now threatening to sue the Trump administration if it does not end DACA and TPS by September 5th.
  
  
  • What is DACA? On June 15th, 2012, President Obama created DACA by executive action to provide temporary legal protection to undocumented immigrants who were brought into the United States as children, have lived in the U.S. for over 5 years, are enrolled in school or have a high school education or GED, and have no criminal background. You can read more about DACA here.
  • What is TPS? Temporary Protection Status (TPS) provides temporary immigration status to eligible nationals from designated countries. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 shifted responsibility from the states and transferred authority to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). TPS is designated to certain countries because of conflict, environmental disasters, epidemics, etc. You can read more about TPS here.
    
    
• Join United We Dream’s Day of Action on August 15th!
  • Call your Member of Congress and tell them you support DACA and TPS! Ask them to stand up for childhood arrivals and co-sponsor the DREAM Act (S1615) and the American Hope Act (HR 3951).  
  • If you are in the States, attend a town hall or meet with your MoC in person. Join a demonstration near you!
  • Organize an event wherever you are - a teach in, film screening, letter writing/phone banking event, demonstration on August 15th - and register your event here.
  • Take to social media - tweet and post your opposition to ending DACA and TPS! Here is a great toolkit with sample tweets, posts, and graphics you can use.
  • Follow and support these organizations: Black Alliance for Just Immigration and United We Dream.

STOP, LOOK, LISTEN! by Kathy Sherretts
I had something else prepared this week, but the awful weekend events in Charlottesville Virginia have left me speechless. I was moved by this piecefrom Dahlia Lithwick, a Slate correspondent who lives there.

Podcast:
NPR, All Things Considered: A Reformed White Nationalist Speaks Out on Charlottesville (8 min)
Christian Picciolini says he was a "lost and lonely" teenager when he was recruited by a white nationalist group. Picciolini immersed himself in the organization's ideology and by age 16, he had emerged as the leader of a group called the Chicago Area Skinheads. 

Article:
Quartz: A New Colossus, The story behind the Statue of Liberty’s unexpected transformation into a beacon for refugees and immigrants by Thu-Huong Ha
Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free… here is a brief history of how that poem came to become synonymous with the Statue of Liberty and this country’s assimilation of immigrants.

Article:
Politico: Interest in U.S. diplomatic corps tumbles in early months of Trump by Daniel Lippman and Nahal Toosi (10 min read) 
The president’s comments thanking Putin for expelling American diplomats from Russia because it would save the U.S. “a lot of money” stunned and disappointed the State Department rank-and-file, and could further dissuade people from joining the diplomatic corps.